P.K. PAGE: 100 YEARS

P. K. Page died in January 2010 at the age of ninety-three and she lives on through her prodigious writing and through the community of writers, artists and friends that she gathered around her during her lifetime. This November, we celebrate what would have been the legendary poet’s 100th birthday, and The Malahat Review has prepared a beautiful tribute.

Like all poets, P. K. Page believed in the value of small literary magazines. In August of 1944, when she was twenty-seven, she published some poems in Poetry, the Chicago magazine she had been desperate to get into. “At the time, it was the place to publish,” she said, “but as soon as they accepted my poems I felt like Groucho Marx: `I don’t know if I care to belong to any club that would have me as a member.’”

In late 2011, the League established the P.K. Page Trust Fund, which accepts donations towards establishing a poetry mentorship program. In honour of what would have been P.K.’s 100th birthday this year, The Malahat Review has organized a wonderful fundraiser and reading event in Victoria on her birthday, November 23rd. The reading, which will be emceed by Victoria Poet Laureate Yvonne Blomer, will be followed by a panel discussion about Page’s life and work led by the University of Victoria’s West Coast Literature specialist, Nicholas Bradley. Admission is by donation, and all proceeds will be donated to the P.K. Page Trust.

If you would like to support the P.K. Page Trust this fall, consider hosting a fundraising event in your city or town: this could be a reading, a panel discussion, an interview, or any combination of these (and more). You can find tips on organizing a literary event here. Funds can be raised by having a modest admission fee, collecting donations, or through a raffle or silent auction. The League provides tax receipts for all donations greater than $10. If you would like to individually donate to the P.K. Page Trust, you can use our online donation form (please include a note that you are donating to the Trust, specifically) or you can send a cheque to our Toronto office.